ESSENCE magazine will give young women the tools and information needed to launch their careers and achieve success at its first ever ESSENCE Young Women’s Leadership Conference: Jumpstart Your Future, which will take place Saturday, November 1, 2008 in Atlanta, GA, at AmericasMart and Saturday, November 8, 2008 in Washington, D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

ESSENCE will bring together thousands of young African-American women for an inspiring day of exciting general sessions, workshops, and speakers, designed to offer career advice, financial planning and life skills that will help them prepare for a successful career. Organizations can get involved and sponsor an on-site recruitment area where attendees can apply for internships and receive career counseling.  

Conference speakers include Vanessa and Angela Simmons (MTV’s “Run’s House”/Pastry Sneakers and Apparel); actress Tia Mowry (CW’s “The Game”); author/media executive Amy DuBois Barnett (Get Yours! How to Have Everything You Ever Dreamed of and More), financial expert Glinda Bridgforth (Girl, Get Your Credit Straight!), music executive Shanti Das (Executive VP of Urban Marketing and Artist Development, Universal Motown); Capricorn Clark (Global Brand Manager, Sean John, TV Personality, VH1’s “I Want to Work for Diddy”); and lawyer/TV host/interior designer Lauren Lake (HGTV’s “Spice Up My Kitchen”).   The Atlanta conference will also include an exciting performance by Bad Boy recording artist Janelle Monáe. Attendees will also enjoy an interactive experience in the ESSENCE Young Women Leadership Conference “Cyber lounge” sponsored by AMBI® Skincare and powered by iTunes.

“It is important for ESSENCE to provide our younger readers with the tools and information necessary for a bright and successful future, “says Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in-chief, ESSENCE. “We’ve created an exciting panel of speakers with whom young women can easily identify and a compelling program in which these future leaders can be heard, inspired and transformed.”

Sponsors of the ESSENCE Young Women’s Leadership Conference are AMBI® Skincare, Organic Root Stimulator and Neutrogena.  In addition, ESSENCE magazine in partnership with The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae launched a “Generation Next” scholarship contest.  Five young women were awarded $5,000 scholarships each towards their higher education goals and a special invitation to the ESSENCE Young Leadership Conference.

Early registration discount before September 20th is $35, and general registration is $45 until November 8. The registration fee also includes a 1-year subscription to ESSENCE magazine.

For more details on registration and conference information, visit www.essence.com/ywlc.  For information on recruitment area sponsorship contact Sheena Meekins at 212.522.2498

About Essence Communications Inc.:
Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the leading media and communications company dedicated to African-American women.  With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is “Where Black Women Come First”.  The company’s flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, Women Who Are Shaping the World Leadership Summit, Window on Our Women (WOW I, II & III) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD) via Essence Studios. For 38 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a readership of 8.5 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women’s lives.

Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at essence.com.